


Sugar and Spice

by virgilistic



Series: Tumblr One-Shots by Me [9]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Abuse, M/M, Manipulation, Physical Abuse, Soulmate AU, Unhealthy Relationships, Verbal Abuse, You guys are gonna hate this oc, analogical - Freeform, descriptions of physical abuse, its not a traditional soulmate au though, ooooh boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-25
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-07-17 06:41:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16090163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/virgilistic/pseuds/virgilistic
Summary: Virgil knew the relationship he had with Taija wasn’t exactly… normal, but what could he do? People were expected to be together with their soulmates. He couldn’t escape if he tried.Logan had always been sceptical of the traditional date-your-soulmate thing every high school had going on, especially since he’d met his own years ago and they were friends, more like brothers.When the group meets, well. The idea of soulmates goes out the window.





	Sugar and Spice

**Author's Note:**

> You guys I...  
> I don’t know about this one.  
> I just... don’t like it? Maybe it’s the pacing, maybe it’s because I’m shying away from writing this plot, maybe because I wrote most of this late at night and I’m it confident, but I just don’t really like it.  
> That being said, I’m going to post it anyways.  
> If it gets good feedback here, I’ll post it over on my tumblr.  
> If you like it, I would love to read your comments!

His entire life, Virgil was fed the notion of soulmates.

They were on billboards by the road with a large heart around them, on travel brochures kissing, in his school textbooks, there was an entire month dedicated to their history and science and whatnot one year.

Virgil’s parents were soulmates, and his neighbors, as well as his brother and his girlfriend, who moved out long ago.

It was only natural to Virgil, then, when he met his own soulmate, that they would be together.

He hardly questioned it.

“ _What kind of a name is Virgil?” A voice mocked from across the class.  
_

_Virgil scoffed, rolling his eyes._

_“Like you can talk, Taija.” He mocked back, ignoring the quick pain that passed over his wrist.  
_

_He watched as Taija scowled, dropping back into his seat. When Virgil glanced down, the words were scrawled across his wrist.  
_

_“What kind of a name is Virgil?”_

He didn’t question it.

Even when Ty, as he insisted he be called, became more controlling, began twisting Virgil’s words, began pushing him down, made him go by Anx, Virgil didn’t question it.

Even now, junior year, he didn’t question it.

“Anx.” Ty called. “Anx, snap out of it, I won’t have you fail this test, how embarrassing would that be? Get to work.”

Virgil winced. “Okay, Ty.” He muttered, tapping his pencil repetitively on the side of his book.

“There’s a new student, y’know?”

Ty said idly, leaning back in his chair and staring blankly at the ceiling. “Dunno his name. He had a buddy, something about them being soulmates. Guess one of them had some big tragedy a while back, so they live together.”

He rambled.

Virgil blinked several times, trying desperately to focus on the math review he was supposed to be filling out.

Ty had said he needed to study, but he kept… talking.

“Imagine that, Anx. What if we got to spend every minute together, imagine what we’d get up to.”

Virgil looked up, heart stopping in his chest as he saw Ty wiggle his eyebrows at him.

Virgil swallowed hard, managing a short nod as he looked back down to his textbook.

_Tap.  
_

_Tap.  
_

_Tap.  
_

_Tap._

The problem wasn’t making sense. E was equal to A, but the algebra didn’t match up, he was doing something wrong, where was the mistake, where was it, was he misreading the problem, which step went wrong, whe-

“Anx!”

Virgil jumped, pencil clattering to the floor.

Ty was almost glaring at him, irritation heavy in his features.

“Were you even listening? You weren’t, were you?” He accused. “You’re supposed to listen when people talk, you know how rude it is to ignore people?”

Virgil clasped his hands together to still his hands, which held slight tremors from his scare.

“Yeah, um, yes, yes I know, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.” He said quietly, watching the table.

“Look at people when they’re talking to you, Anx!” Ty snapped.

Virgil jumped, bringing his eyes up to Ty’s.

“Right, sorry, Ty.”

Ty huffed, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, whatever, who knows what kind of trouble you’d get into without me, it’s a good thing you met your soulmate early.” He grumbled.

Virgil let out a breath, trying to shake off his nerves as he picked up his pencil.

_Tap.  
_

_Tap.  
_

_Tap._

Tap, tap went the pencil, as Virgil listened to Ty talk.

“Anyways, yeah, they’re weird, apparently they’re not together.”

“What?”

Ty glared at him for interrupting, but continued anyways.

“They’re not together, like I said. They were childhood friends or something, never developed romantic feelings or some crap. They’re freaks, that’s what I say.”

Virgil hummed, mulling it over in his mind.

Soulmates who weren’t… together?

It was unfathomable.

He shook his head. Ty said they were freaks, he was probably right.

Virgil packed up his books quietly, hardly adding a word to his conversation with Ty, until the bell for third block rang, indicating that their free period was over.

Ty stood up lazily.

“I’ll see you fifth, right?” He drawled.

Virgil nodded.

Ty walked off without another word, and Virgil swallowed the knot in his throat.

He had tried to explain his feelings to his old friend, Remy, several times before.

He’d tried to explain how Ty was always so distant.

How he never seemed to do anything to indicate that he actually liked Virgil.

How Ty scared him, sometimes, how he twisted his words and mocked his actions.

Remy had listened attentively at the time, concern furrowing his brows.

“ _Virgil… that doesn’t sound good.”_ He’d said, matter-of-fact. “ _You need to get away.”_

Virgil had thought that ludicrous at the time.

“ _He’s my soulmate!” He protested. “He’d never actually hurt me, would he?”  
_

_Remy smiled sadly, hugging Virgil to his side._

_“You never know, Virge.” He mumbled. “Just… talk to me, okay, hun? I’m here for you.”_

Virgil had nodded, had promised, but he never got to take Remy up on the deal.

Ty started asking questions, backing Virgil into corners and trapping him with his words.

“ _You’ve been spending an awful lot of time with Remy and Dee lately.” Ty said one night, as they stood washing dishes at Virgil’s house. “I’m lonely. It’s like you prefer them over me.”  
_

_Virgil had blinked once in shock.  
_

_“No… no, that’s not it!” He said, flustered. “They’re just the only good friends I really have, y’know?”  
_

_“I don’t know.” Ty whined, refusing to look Virgil in the eye._ _“I don’t like you spending this much time with them.” He said.  
_

_Virgil bit his lip nervously. “You could join us on Pizza Tuesdays if you want…” he offered weakly.  
_

_Ty scowled at Virgil, finally looking at him.  
_

_“No, Virgil. I don’t want you hanging out with them, you hear me?”  
_

_“But-“  
_

_“No, Virgil!” Ty snapped, grabbing Virgil’s wrist tightly.  
_

_Virgil winced trying to pull his hand free with little success, the plate he was holding crashing into the sink.  
_

_“Why not!” He asked, fear battling with indignation inside of him._

_“They’re my friends, you can’t just-“  
_

_Virgil was cut off as Ty used his grip on his wrist to fling him into the wall.  
_

_Ty looked over him, eyes hooded from the dim light, angry, and Virgil shrunk underneath them.  
_

_“Don’t talk to them anymore, Virgil, got it?”  
_

_Virgil just stood in shocked silence, shaking slightly, but squeaked out a small “okay” as Ty slammed his hand beside Virgil’s head._

That was freshman year.

Now… junior year was just starting.

Remy and Dee gave him cold looks in the hallway sometimes. For all they knew, he’d merely decided to stop talking to them for no reason.

Virgil didn’t talk to anyone but Ty, and even then, he didn’t really… talk.

Virgil walked into his English class, tapping his pencil against his thigh.

As he sat down, he quickly realized that there were new faces. Or more specifically, one new face.

Normally, nobody sat in the seats to Virgil’s left or right, but today, someone dressed in nicely fitting jeans, a black tee, and a dark blue flannel was sitting in the desk to his left.

Virgil absently wondered if that was the guy with the… the strange soulmate.

The teacher walked in before Virgil could think too far into it, and he ducked his head as she began talking.

“Good morning, kids. I’m sure you guys will just love me saying this and trust me, I’m no more excited than you are, but your group essay for the year is coming up.”

Virgil let his head plop down onto the desk, groaning softly along with the others in his class.

The group essay was, in short, a four page essay each grade was assigned. Two students were paired together to choose a topic and to write a paper about that topic, together. The idea was to build ideas upon each other, but

Virgil just thought it was a nuisance.

He wasn’t really allowed to talk to many people anyways.

Ty made sure of that.

“Okay, guys, quiet down.” The teacher called, sounding just as tired as the students felt. “I’m not going to force partners upon you guys. You may choose your own, so long as you can get the essay done by next week. Have fun, remember the rules, try not to kill each other.”

Virgil sighed, sitting up. Best just to wait until everyone had a partner.

“Hello?” A voice beside him said.  
Virgil jumped a tad, glancing over at the boy who had spoken.

The flannel dude.

“What?” He asked.

_Put on the dark persona, no one will bother you, you’re not Virgil, you’re Anx, Ty Denoi’s boyfriend._

“The teacher mentioned ‘rules’. I am not familiar with these rules. Could you tell me what they are really quickly?”

Virgil narrowed his eyes, scoffing.

“The usual. School appropriate, no nonsense, work together, don’t let one person do all the work. Has to pertain to something current.”

The other student nodded thoughtfully.

“I see. Thank you.”

Virgil grunted, looking away, sighing as he saw that everyone else was already paired up.

“Yeah, well, looks like you’re with me, buddy.” Virgil huffed, tensing his muscles in an attempt to stifle his shaking. Do not show weakness, Virge.

“ _Don’t be a baby, Anx, get over it already!”_

The boy turned, pushing his glasses up his nose, and nodded.

“Seems so. Hi, I’m Logan Ester. Might I have your name?”

“Anx.”

Logan nodded, unquestioning.

“Alright, Anx. Shall we get to work?”

Virgil grimaced at him.

“Yeah, sure, buddy.”

Logan turned out to be an okay dude. A little stiff, with his formal language, but the more they talked, the more relaxed he became.

By the end of the class, Virgil was definitely less apprehensive then he was at the beginning of class.

“Would you happen to know where room 38 is?”

Virgil bit his lip at the question, asked right after the ring of the bell.

That was his class with Ty, and if Ty saw him walking with someone, the new kid nonetheless, who knew what he’d do.

“I… yeah, I know where it is. I have that class next, actually.” He muttered.

Logan hummed.

“Would you mind if I were to follow you there, then? I’ve noticed that the school’s numbering system is a bit…”

Virgil scoffed. “Yeah, it’s trash.”

He sighed, internally cursing himself. “Yeah, sure, follow me or whatever. We’ve got a test today though, so I don’t know what you’ll be doing.”

Logan shrugged.

“It depends on what you’re studying.”

“That’s fair.”

Virgil hesitated slightly at the door, before turning to Logan.

“I’m sorry, but I won’t really be able to talk to you during this class.”

Logan tilted his head curiously.

“My… uh, my soulmate, Ty, he doesn’t really like me talking to people, and with the gossip about you and yours…” Virgil trailed off, staring hard at the floor.

Logan furrowed his brows, opening his mouth, but before he could speak, Virgil darted into the room.

“Who were you talking to?” Ty asked as Virgil sat next to him, swinging his arm around Virgil’s neck.

“One of the new students. He wanted help finding his class.”

Virgil could see as Ty grit his teeth, and winced.

“Try not to talk to him anymore, yeah?”

“Well, we’re paired together for the essay, so…”

Ty tsked. “Why’d you pair with the freak?”

“He was the only other person without a partner.”

Ty took a breath, but before his could talk, the teacher closed the door and raised a hand for quiet.

“We’re gonna talk later.” Ty muttered.

Virgil only nodded.

Dread steadily built in his chest with each minute that passed by.

What had Ty seen?

What was he going to say?

What was he going to _do_?

Virgil gave a huge sigh as the bell rang.

He saw Logan give him a nod and a small wave as the students began flooding out of the classroom, but he could offer little but a apologetic smile as Ty gripped his wrist tightly and began storming out of the classroom.

“What was that?” Ty demanded, his voice cold and chilling as he cornered Virgil against a wall.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Virgil tried, avoiding eye contact.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Anx.”

Ty hissed, pushing Virgil hard enough that his back roughly hit the wall.

“I’m not!” Virgil protested. “He approached me after class, we’re group partners, what choice did I have!”

“Don’t talk back to me, Virgil!” Ty yelled.

Virgil shrank back.

Ty never used his real name.

“You should have refused to talk to him!”

“But-“

“No. Do what you have to for your school project, but don’t associate with that freak more than you have to, hear me?”

Virgil shuffled his feet, nodding.

Ty released the hold he had on Virgil’s wrist, and Virgil winced as he turned it.

The skin was discolored where he’d gripped, and Virgil sighed as he realized he’d definitely have bruises come morning.

As he watched Ty storm off, Virgil took in a shuddering breath.

What was wrong?

Everyone dated their soulmate.

Soulmates were literally made for each other, so why…

Why did Ty twist his words, why did he disregard his emotions, why did he hurt him?

Why did he leave bruises on his wrists and tears in his eyes?

The thoughts weren’t new. He’d had them ever since he abandoned Remy and Dee, ever since Ty first hit him.

It had to be his fault, he was broken, his soulmate hurt him, what was he doing wrong?

As Virgil floated in a daze through his last classes, he contemplated.

What did he do so wrong that Ty felt that he had to hurt him?

Surely it was his fault, Ty was popular, he was liked.

So why?

It must be him, that’s the problem.

It must be.

Virgil collapsed into his bed when he finally made it home.

He pulled off his hoodie and hung it on his doorknob, examining the bruises that were beginning to form over his wrists.

He grimaced as he heard his parents moving around downstairs.

Get a sleeved shirt. Act like nothing is wrong. Get along, get along.

Virgil sat tensely through dinner with his parents. His father doted adoringly over his mother, setting up plates and cooking vegetables while Mom handled the rest.  
He held back a wince as he bumped his wrist into the table on the push back.

His parents told him goodnight, and Virgil mumbled his response as he left.

Days passed, and things went smoothly.

Or, well, as smooth as they could.

Virgil took to wearing long sleeves and bracelets to cover up the bruises on his wrists as they healed, and things seemed to settle.

He and Logan became friends, despite Virgil’s hesitancy, and Ty’s warnings.

He found that… he cared about Logan.

Logan, who he knew to randomly derail conversations when he went on a tangent about a seemingly random fact.  
Logan, who had a strange ability to talk Virgil through all the nervous thoughts that Ty dismissed, that Ty mocked, that Ty made fun of.

Logan, who was sweet and kind and polite and gentle, who never slammed things to the table, who never raised his voice in anger, who never hurt Virgil in the slightest.

Eventually, he met Roman.

Roman was… loud. Where Logan was cool and collected, all perfect posture and small, hinting smiles, Roman was big, was grand and dramatic, with sweeping hand gestures and a flair for storytelling.

He and Logan argued a lot, but there seemed to be no love lost between them. The rough pushes, both verbal and physical, were merely jest, and both were aware.  
Watching them made Virgil miss Rem and Dee all the more.

It made him miss the two so much that during class one day, Virgil asked Logan about them.

“Do you have any classes with a kid named Remy?” He asked.

Logan shook his head. “No. I do know of Remy, however - he and Roman made fast friends, along with Patton.”

“What about Dee, do you know him?”

“I believe so. Is he Remy’s friend, the one with the sweater always around his waist and the gray and yellow beanie?”

Virgil gave a small, aching chuckle, and nodded.

“Yup, that’d be him. We used to be friends a while ago.”

“What happened?”

Virgil hesitated. “Just… soulmate issues. Ty didn’t like them very much.”

“Ty is your soulmate?”

“Yeah.”

Logan had seemed like he wanted to ask more questions, but decided against it.

Either way, Virgil began going with Logan and Roman when they had movie nights, sitting to Logan’s left, with Patton by Roman on Roman’s right.

And honestly…. Virgil’s life was better than he could remember it being since he met Ty.

There were no façades to keep up around Logan and his friends, no double standards, no yelling, no blame, no short fuses, no cuts or bruises.

It felt… amazing. He couldn’t get enough.

Even after his and Logan’s essay was turned in, he kept hanging out with him.

Logan was safe, comforting.

Virgil was… well, happy, when he was with him.

Before he knew it, he’d fallen in love with Logan, and he didn’t even have time to process that before everything came crumbling down.

One day, when Logan, Roman, and Virgil were hanging out, they decided to head to the mall, because there was a movie Roman wanted to pick up, and Logan and Virgil wanted ice cream.

And everything was fine at first.

They picked up the movie, and the three were heading to get ice cream when it happened.

Virgil was listening to Roman and Logan talk about the contrast between reality and fantasy in movies, when suddenly a hand grabbed his shoulder roughly, spinning Virgil and unbalancing him.

Virgil reached out blindly and used Logan, who was closest to him, as an anchor, almost bringing both of them to the floor.

Virgil had given frantic apologies to Logan, who was adamantly waving them off, until he caught sight of Ty.

His voice froze in his throat, his eyes going wide, and he tensed as he took in the furious expression of his soulmate.

Ty was livid.

Virgil was _terrified_.

“Virgil.” Ty said coolly, anger simmering beneath his voice.

“What are you doing?”

“I, uh, Lo-logan and Roman and I, we-“

“You what?” Ty sneered. “I thought I told you not to talk to them?”

Virgil swallowed hard, looking down to his feet. “You did, I’m sorry.”

“You better be.” Ty scoffed, grabbing Virgil and beginning to drag him off.

Virgil looked over his shoulder.

Logan and Roman were both radiating a mixture of confusion and anger, and Virgil could only mouth a ‘sorry’ as Ty yanked harshly on his arm to get him to move faster, a sinking feeling of deja vu settling in his gut.

The next day, despite the spring heat, Virgil wore his purple long sleeved shirt and his bracelets.  
When Logan tried to talk to him, Virgil ducked his head and shook it.

 

“I’m sorry.” He muttered once they got into English. “I can’t talk to you anymore. I… Ty really doesn’t like it.”

“Why does Ty get to decide who you talk to?” Logan asked, eyebrows furrowed in irritation and what Virgil registered as concern.

He shrugged. “It’s better than whatever else he might do.” He confessed under his breath.

Logan startled. “Virgil, is he..”

Virgil huffed a breath, and shrugged again as the teacher came in. “Probably.”

Ty confronted him about it when Virgil went to his house that afternoon.

“I heard you’re still talking to Logan.” He said.

Virgil hummed, trying to feign relaxation.

“He sits right next to me in class, I was just telling him that I won’t be talking to him anymore.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not.”

Virgil wasn’t prepared for the pain that erupted across his face, and he sat bolt upright as he stared in dismay at Ty.

“You know better than to talk back to me, Virgil.” He said, calm as ever.

Virgil felt tears well up in his eyes.

Bruises ached along his arms, and now his face stung with the force of Ty’s slap.

“Now, don’t talk to them anymore. Got it?”

Logan’s words floated through Virgil’s head.

“Why do you get to choose who I can and can’t talk to?” Virgil asked defiantly, pushing himself from the couch.

“Excuse me?” Ty said, indignation heavy in his words.

“I-“

“No, Virgil, stop. Stop talking.” Ty said, taking even, measured steps toward him.

For every step he took, Virgil took one back, the bravery he’d felt quickly fading as his breath caught in his throat.

He felt nauseous.

Virgil barely remembered what followed.

He remembered trying in vain to get away from Ty, remembered tripping over his heel and falling backwards, remembered the pain that erupted on his face and the back of his head as Ty punched him.

He remembered getting up, pushing Ty, remembered running out of Ty’s house, remembered bursting into his own house and ignoring his parents as they called after him in his race up the stairs.

Remembered staring at his reflection in the mirror, the black eye that was forming, the new bruises on his arms.

The next day, Virgil wore the hood of his sweatshirt over his head, the strings pulled slightly and his bangs pulled further over his face to hide the new injury.

When he walked into English, Logan was already there.

“Virgil?” He questioned, voice concerned.

Suddenly close to tears, Virgil didn’t answer. His throat was tight and painful, and if he tried to talk he knew he’d be done for.

Logan refused to give up, however.

“Virgil, c’mon, let me help you.” He pleaded softly.

Virgil just shook his head.

Help him?

It was all his fault in the first place. Why should Logan help him when Virgil is the one that started the mess?

If only he were better, not so much of a mess, if only-

There was a hand lying gently, innocently on his back.

All Virgil could remember, though, was the hand on his shoulder, roughly spinning him around.

Virgil’s air choked in his chest, and he could feel the attack hit him like a train.

He felt Logan’s hand in his own, gently guiding him out of his seat and into the mostly-empty hallway.

“….rgil, Virgil, can you hear me?”

Logan was talking, his tone low and soft and comforting.

Virgil locked onto it, a life raft in the tumultuous sea of his thoughts.

“Virgil, can you hear me?”

Virgil managed a short, clipped nod.

“Okay, that’s good. Is it okay if I touch you, just your hand?”

Virgil hesitated. Hand. Touch?

He nodded, finally.

Logan. It was Logan. Logan was safety, Logan was comfort, Logan was off-topic ramblings at 3 in the morning and text conversation during class when he was supposed to be solving equations.

A gentle tapping on the back of his hand brought him out of his thoughts.

“Breathe with me, okay?” Logan urged, voice even. “You know this one. In for four… two three, four. Hold for seven…. two, three, four, five, six, seven, release for eight, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Repeat, in, two three four…”

Logan rapped a steady rythm onto the back of Virgil’s hands as he counted, and slowly, the breaths stopped cutting off in his chest, the panic ebbed from his mind.

There was just Logan, and the silence of the empty hallway.

“Lo… thank you.” Virgil mumbled, exhausted. He wound his arms around his stomach, even though the nausea had passed.

Logan let out a breath. “It’s no problem, Virgil.” He said awkwardly, hand still sitting on Virgil’s. “Do you want to… talk?”

Virgil sighed. “Not really, but I need to.”

Logan hummed, moving to sit beside Virgil, leaning up against the lockers.

“It’s… it’s Ty.” He said, and it seemed a herculean effort just to speak those two words. “He… “

Virgil could feel the tears welling up again.

He pulled down his hood and turned to face Logan. He pointed to his eye.

He knew it looked bad, looked painful.

It _was_ painful. He didn’t even try to suggest otherwise, it was obvious.

Before he knew it, he was spilling the entire story, the conversation with Rem, Ty demanding he stop talking to them, the isolation, the bruises, the manipulation.

Logan took in a sharp breath, but he seemed more angry than surprised.

“You knew, didn’t you?” Virgil asked, resigned.

Logan nodded. “I had suspicions. His controlling behavior, how he cut you off from Remy and Deceit, how you acted when he came up, the bracelets and the long-sleeved shirts and… and I talked to Remy.”

Virgil winced. “All that… and Remy?”

“Yes. He told me about the conversation you two had, a long time ago. Before Ty split you three up.”

“Oh.” Virgil mumbled. “Do they still hate me?”

“I don’t know.” Logan answered. “I don’t think they ever hated you, they just didn’t understand. Still don’t. They won’t understand until you explain what happened.”

Virgil winced once again.

“I don’t know if…”

Logan seemed to understand.

“Well, you’ve got us to support you, at the very least.”

Virgil started. “Us…?”

“If Roman and Patton heard they’d be with you in a heartbeat.”

“Oh.” Virgil said.

And then he started to laugh.

It was ridiculous, he was sitting in an empty hallway with a black eye and the boy he’d fallen in love with, the boy who wasn’t his soulmate, the boy who supported Virgil in a way that Virgil hardly understood, talking about possibly reuniting with his oldest friends.

Utterly ridiculous.

But he laughed, and eventually he heard Logan chuckle as well.

“Logan… I like you.” Virgil whispered after his laughter died down.

“Like…”

“Yeah. Like that.”

“That’s good.” Logan said.

When Virgil looked over, he was blushing, a smile tentatively on his face, open and vulnerable.

“Because I like you too.”

Virgil smiled.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while.

The hallways were empty, the faint mumble of voices barely reaching them from behind the closed classroom doors.

“Wanna help me get some friends back?”

“Of course.”

It was from that day that Virgil’s life truly turned around.

Logan explained to him that not everyone was in love with their soulmate.

He explained platonic soulmates, as he and Roman were, and soulmates like Ty and Virgil, who were never meant to be in such a close relationship, who were meant to encourage a change in someone, for better or for worse.

Virgil finally made up with Remy and Dee.

“I’m sorry.” He’d said, before anything else. “I’m sorry, because you warned me, and I didn’t listen.”

Remy had looked shocked, speechless for a couple seconds as Dee shuffled his feet beside them.

“You have a story to tell?” Dee questioned.

Virgil nodded, avoiding eye contact.

And he spilled.

He told them how Ty grabbed him several days after his conversation with Remy, how Ty wouldn’t let him talk, how he made accusations, how he grabbed Virgil and threw him into the wall, how he scared him.

By the end of the story, Virgil was close to tears.

When Remy and Dee grabbed him into a hug, the tears already falling down theirs, the dam broke.

Virgil spent half an hour just crying into their arms, with them doing the same.

He finally had his best friends back, and he couldn’t be happier.  
Remy and Dee apologized for ignoring him all those years, waving off Virgil’s protests.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” Virgil said eventually, a small smile on his face. “I’ll just be glad to have you back.”

The day after he told Roman and Patton, Ty came to school with a black eye.

He immediately stormed into the library, where Virgil was sitting with Roman, Logan, and Patton, and practically yanked Virgil from his spot.

“What’s with this?” He had demanded angrily. “What did I tell you?”

Virgil flinched, shrinking back, but he felt Logan lay a hand on his shoulder, the weight gentle and grounding, reminding him of why, of _why_ he had to do this.

“You told me not to talk to them.” He said, voice surprisingly collected.

“And? What are you doing?”

“Talking to them.”

“Wh-“

“Ty, I’m breaking up with you.”

For a second, Virgil could see the rage building in Ty’s form. His heart was beating hard in his chest, practically in his throat as he waited for Ty’s response.

“We’re soulmates, Anx, What are you talking about?”

“I don’t care, and my name isn’t Anx.”

Virgil lifted his gaze to Ty’s as he took a step forward, Logan’s hand falling from his shoulder.

“It’s Virgil.”

Ty was dumbfounded, and Virgil turned around without another word, reclaiming his seat at the table, and smiling at Roman and Logan as they followed his lead.

Patton, to his left, picked up his chatter where he’d left off, sending Ty wary gazes the entire time.

”Roman... did you punch Ty?” Virgil asked once Ty left.

His only response was a smirk and the knowing glance exchanged between Roman and Logan.

After that day… well, things still definitely weren’t sunshine and rainbows. Virgil didn’t tell anyone outside his friend group about the abuse.

Ty made himself out to be the victim. People began to mock Virgil as he walked by, and he definitely got into several fights the first few weeks, but he was okay.

Logan was there, a steady presence when things got rough, and he was there for Logan when he was bombarded by tests for his AP classes.

There was something… about him.

They supported each other.

With he, Remy, and Dee rekindling their friendship, and his new friendship with Patton, Roman, and Logan, well.

Things were pretty good for him.

Three years later, Logan and Virgil were sharing an apartment, their universities split to either side.

Logan and Virgil spent a day in the coffee shop across the road, celebrating their anniversary.

Logan was safety, he was calm, he was the flipping of pages as they read and the soft murmur of voices late at night when they should be sleeping.

Logan was the dust glittering in the stars, and the peace of music as they shared earbuds, and the scent of hot chocolate in the winter.

Logan was love, he was home.

“Happy anniversary.” Logan said simply, pushing a hot chocolate towards Virgil, as Virgil did the same.

They smiled as they took a sip together, laughing softly.

Virgil played with his mug, looking up to catch Logan’s eyes.

“I love you.” He said, unwavering.

Logan smiled, his cheeks dusted red. “And I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this far!!  
> If you liked it, consider leaving a comment or reading the other oneshots I’ve written!!


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